President Trump appeared to mock House Speaker Nancy Pelosi this week by gleefully handing out souvenir pens at the USMCA signing ceremony — a move that came after Pelosi was slammed for handing out souvenir pens with her name on them on the day she signed the resolution to transmit two articles of impeachment against Trump to the Senate.
Pelosi, D-Calif., gave out the commemorative pens Jan. 15 to a number of House Democrats who were involved in impeachment, a stark contrast from what she had repeatedly said was a “somber” and “prayerful” act. This led a number of commentators to condemn her as hypocritical and tone-deaf.
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“You know what you hand out pens for? Accomplishments. Like, say, signing a historic trade deal with China,” Elizabeth Harrington, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, tweeted back then in response to Pelosi’s gesture. “So it’s fitting that Democrats are handing out pens for their sole accomplishment: impeachment. Democrats have done NOTHING for the American people.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., second from right, gives pens to fellow Democrats after she signed the resolution to transmit the two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump to the Senate for trial on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020. (Associated Press)
Trump, who was celebrating one of his largest economic policy victories with the signing of the USMCA trade deal between the U.S., Mexico and Canada — he promised to renegotiate NAFTA during his campaign — seemed to call back to Pelosi’s controversial moment as he shoveled handfuls of pens at lookers-on Wednesday.
President Trump hands out pens after signing a new North American trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, during an event at the White House, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020, in Washington. (Associated Press)
Handing out ceremonial pens is a common tradition among American elected officials as when a president or other leader uses a pen to sign a historical document, it also becomes historical. President Barack Obama, for example, used 22 pens to sign his signature piece of legislation, the Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare.
The former president didn’t catch heat for that celebratory act as the groundbreaking legislation he boosted became law, but Obama had not made it a point to wear dark colors for the “solemn” act of signing the ACA, as Pelosi did with impeachment.
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“THIS is something you hand out pens for!” Harrington tweeted following Trump’s USMCA signing ceremony.
The USMCA, which is the biggest trade deal of all-time, covers more than $1.3 trillion of commerce, and is the second major trade deal secured by the Trump administration this year. The agreement has already been ratified by Mexico, but not yet by Canada.
“You’re going to see more jobs all across the economy, in the automobile sector, in the agricultural sector and of course in the energy sector as well,” Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo on Wednesday.
Fox Business’ Johnathan Garber contributed to this report.
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